AIIA releases Qld election policy statement
The Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA) has made 21 pre-election recommendations for the next Queensland Government.
The pre-election policy statement urges whichever government is elected to adopt a target of 50% or less of its IT expenditure to be spent on running existing operations by 2024.
In addition, the government should publish its whole-of-government and departmental IT spend and its mix of spend between operational expenditure and new investment on an annual basis.
To meet the target of boosting the ICT industry and sourcing 30% of IT products and services by SMEs by 2022, the AIIA is also calling on commitments including creating a whole-of-government digital SME marketplace where all contracts under $500,000 must be procured.
This should be backed by publishing on a quarterly basis how many direct sourced contracts have been procured up to the threshold, and a commitment to allocate 2% of departmental ICT budgets for proof of concepts and innovative solutions from SMEs.
Meanwhile, the AIIA is calling for a target of training 50% of the IT workforce within the state government with basic new skills by 2022 through the AIIA Digital Skills Guild initiative, and offering training to all non-IT staff interested in reskilling for a career in the sector.
Other recommendations include targeting growing the state’s ICT sector faster than the national average, the development of a public-private partnership model ICT ecosystem and additional funding for schools on training students and teachers in digital skills.
“Queensland has a history of problematic large IT projects, which may explain its cautious approach, but this should not stop the necessary investment that will enable Queensland success for the future,” AIIA CEO Ron Gauci said.
Gauci said the COVID pandemic has demonstrated that digital technologies are core to effective government, citizen engagement and productivity, and warned that Queensland risks falling further behind the rest of the nation in this area.
“The fact that regions in Queensland are coming last on the digital inclusion index should concern all Queenslanders and we need a dedicated Minister that will drive a whole-of-government approach to technology, cyber strategy and execution — working closely with industry,” he said.
“The AIIA’s Queensland Council looks forward to working with an incoming government after the 31 October poll to see how industry and government can partner for success.”
The policy statement was developed by the AIIA Queensland Council, which is chaired by Information Professionals CEO Mark Nicholls.
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